


In Which Bradley Is A Fusspot

by vix_spes



Series: Tempest/Mojo 'verse [4]
Category: Merlin (TV) RPF
Genre: Domestic, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Overprotective
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-14
Updated: 2013-11-14
Packaged: 2018-01-01 14:25:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1045006
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vix_spes/pseuds/vix_spes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A little bird lets something slip to Bradley that lands Colin in a bit of hot water…</p>
            </blockquote>





	In Which Bradley Is A Fusspot

**Author's Note:**

  * For [chaosmaka](https://archiveofourown.org/users/chaosmaka/gifts).



Colin had gone back inside the theatre to grab his coat, hat and bag with the intention of leaving unnoticed by another door when he finally checked his phone. Normally he didn’t bother until he was on his way home but something made him check. The results were mostly what he had expected: a few congratulatory texts from acquaintances in the audience for the evenings show. There was one from his mam asking when was a good time for her to phone over the weekend, one from Bradley to say that he was at Eoin’s flat and, the unexpected one, from Eoin. Intrigued, Colin clicked on the message to open it, more than a little confused as to why the other Irishman had been in touch. It wasn’t that they weren’t friends but just that Eoin was more likely to keep in touch with Bradley rather than Colin. The minute that he read the message, Colin was even more confused.  
  
 _‘Sorry mate, think I might have dumped you in the shit with James.’_  
  
Eoin was obviously talking about Bradley but beyond that, Colin honestly didn’t have a clue. He was fairly certain that Eoin was still in the States filming _The Night Shift_ and even though he didn’t have a clue about time differences, typed a response and pressed send; Eoin had always had fairly random sleep patterns anyway.  
  
 _‘Eoin, what on earth are you talking about?’_  
  
Not bothering to wait for a response, he pulled his coat and hat on before sneaking out of the theatre without being seen. He was almost home when he remembered that he had texted Eoin but, when he tugged his phone out of his pocked, he was unsurprised to see that he hadn’t had a response. Even though not getting a response hadn’t surprised him, neither had it helped him; he was still as confused as he had been an hour ago. What could Bradley be annoyed with him for?  
  
The toasty warmth of the flat hit him as he opened the door and, judging from the lights that were on and the sounds that he could hear, Bradley was ensconced on the sofa watching TV. Hanging up his coat and leaving his bag and shoes in a pile by the door, he wandered into the living room and pressed a kiss to Bradley’s lips as he settled next to him on the sofa. Colin couldn’t help but frown when Bradley didn’t automatically reach out and snake an arm out to wrap around Colin’s shoulders and tug him in closer as he always did. It would appear that Eoin was right and Colin was ‘in the shit’ with Bradley but he still didn’t understand why. The episode that Bradley was watching was one that they had seen quite a lot and Colin knew that it was nearly at the end so he was happy to wait for a few minutes before he confronted Bradley.  
As he had thought, he didn’t have long to wait. The minute that the credits started to roll, Bradley pressed pause and turned so that he was facing Colin. Before he could utter a word, Colin spoke; he wasn’t good with confrontation but neither did he really want to wait for Bradley to talk first.  
  
“I had an interesting text from Eoin when I was leaving the theatre. He was apologising for dumping me in the shit with you. Any idea what he was talking about?”  
  
“Yes.”  
  
Well, that was helpful. “Do you maybe want to tell me what he’s talking about? Because at the moment I’m just really confused.”  
  
Bradley was silent for a long time. Such a long time that Colin started to worry even more. Finally, just as he thought he was about to go stir crazy, Bradley spoke up.  
  
“Do you remember what happened two and a half months ago?”  
  
“Huh?” That wasn’t what Colin had been expecting.  
  
“Do you remember what happened two and a half months ago? You know, when you ended up in hospital because you were so ill that you couldn’t finish the run of The Tempest?”  
  
“Well of course I remember it. I’m not likely to forget about it. Why?”  
  
“You know Eoin, he’s the most media-savvy of the lot of us. He saw some photos of you at the stage door after Mojo last week and when we spoke earlier, he mentioned how surprised he was that you were signing autographs and meeting fans in November with wet hair and just wearing a t-shirt.”  
  
“Oh.” Things were a bit clearer now. Eoin’s message now made sense and Colin supposed that he could understand why Bradley was a bit frustrated.  
  
“Is that all you’re going to say? Oh?” There was a bit of a strange tone in Bradley’s voice that Colin couldn’t quite place.  
  
“What do you want me to say Bradley? You’ve seen the photos so you know that it’s true.” Even as he spoke, Colin knew that he had been an idiot and that Bradley had every right to be angry, even upset with him. “I haven’t really been thinking about it too much and I’ve been a bit silly.”  
  
“Not thinking too much? A bit silly?”  
  
Colin winced. Bradley seemed as though he was mere seconds away from going completely apoplectic. “I’m sorry! It hasn’t been that cold and I haven’t been out there for that long.”  
  
Apparently Colin’s attempts at placating Bradley were going to be ignored though.  
  
“The interesting thing is that you’re the only one apparently ‘silly’ enough to go out to the stage door in just your shirt-sleeves. All of the others are going out in at least hoodies and they weren’t the ones that were in hospital before starting rehearsals. You had to promise your mum that you were going to be careful and look after yourself if you were going to insist on doing Mojo. _I_ had to swear to your mum that I would make sure you would be careful.”  
  
Guilt swept through Colin at Bradley’s words. Bradley had been so amazing when Colin had been ill, both before, during and after his hospital stay. He had come over to spend some time with Colin, he hadn’t come over to play nursemaid yet he had done so without a word of complaint. If Bradley was this bad, what was his mam going to be like?  
  
“I’m sorry.” Not wanting to sit on the other end of the sofa anymore, Colin shuffled along the sofa so that he was sat next to Bradley, the two of them pressed together from knee to shoulder.  
  
“I know.”  
  
Bradley’s arms finally rose and wrapped around Colin, pulling him in tightly against Bradley’s body. Colin couldn’t help but sigh in relief, both from the fact that Bradley was no longer angry but also at the fact that he radiated warmth like a space heater.  
  
“I never would have taken you to be such a fusspot.” Colin murmured the words against Bradley’s throat, where he was snuggled in as close as he could without actually sitting in Bradley’s lap.  
  
“Yes well, I wouldn’t have to be such a fusspot if you actually bloody looked after yourself. Is it really that difficult Cols?”  
  
There was a teasing edge to Bradley’s tone now that made Colin relax and tease back. “No mam, it’s not that difficult. I promise to wear a jacket when I go out after the show in the future. Happy now?”  
  
“Absolutely thrilled.” Bradley responded dryly. “You’re being awfully cheeky tonight Morgan. I think all of that cold air has gone to your head and done some damage.”  
  
Colin leant in and kissed Bradley quickly before pulling back with a mischievous smile. “Oh really? In that case, I think you’d better come to bed and reassure yourself that I’m absolutely fine.”

**Author's Note:**

> If you would prefer to comment at LJ, you can do so [here](http://vix-spes.livejournal.com/146785.html)


End file.
